Religion and Psychological Distress

Abstract

The positive emotional function of religion has been well accepted, but the evidence has not been conclusive. Furthermore, research has rarely made explicit comparisons to persons who claim to have no religion. Using a representative sample of Illinois residents (and controlling for sociodemographics and willingness to express feelings), I found that the stronger a person's religious belief, the lower the level of psychological distress. This supports the idea that religion reduces demoralization and provides hope and meaning. However, I also found that persons with no religion likewise had low levels of distress. Thus, there was a curvilinear effect of religious belief on distress. In addition, I found that Protestants had the lowest distress levels, followed by Catholics, Jews, and others. Differences in belief systems, however, especially a belief in the American Protestant ethic, did not explain differences in distress among religious groups. Strength of religious beliefs appears to be more important than content in explaining the effect of religion on psychological distress.